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Forum The War Years
In October 1942, three Susquehanna University students - Frank S. Attinger, Ralph C. Brown and I - decided to volunteer for the U.S. Army Aviation Cadet Training Program. We drove to Harrisburg to sign up. After taking our physical examinations and signing all the necessary paperwork, we were sent home where we waited to be called for active duty. On Feb. 1, 1943, I was ordered to report to Harrisburg where I joined a trainload of recruits headed for Miami Beach, Fla., for basic training. After basics and several more months of intensive training in Ohio and Tennessee, I was sent to Maxwell Field for pre-flight school, then on to primary flight training in Jackson, Miss. I received my wings on March 12, 1944. Five months later, I landed in Port Moresby, New Guinea. I lived in tents there and at other bases on the road to the Philippines. From Sept. 6, 1944, to March 31, 1945, I flew 40 missions, including 12 as copilot and 28 as first pilot. During a mission to Phan Rang Bay, located along the China coast, a 40-millimeter enemy shell hit our plane in the nose about 10 feet in front of the pilot's seat. Fortunately, no one was injured and we were able to maneuver away from the formation, dump our bombs in the ocean and make our way back to base. The mission earned our crew R&R in Sydney, Australia. Not everyone in the crew remained so fortunate, though. Crew member Elmo Cranford was killed on a practice mission in the Philippines. His death left the rest of the team truly saddened and keenly aware of life's fragility. While in the Philippines, two ships docked in the harbor were hit by Japanese Kamikaze planes, killing 30 percent of their men. Flight crews were lost or shot down in missions across the Pacific Ocean. Those of us fortunate enough to survive were truly blessed. - William David Gross '47
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